Page 9 of Scars of the Sun
A smile pulled across my face as I listened to her teach and encourage the pup. A guy I’d given a few pointers to on his kick flip asked about the show, so I talked about our newest set, pulled out my phone so he could hear a little bit of our latest song.
He nodded along to the music and took a picture of the flyer I held out so he’d remember the details. Jess ran the Instagram profile she’d convinced Tyler to agree to us starting, so I directed him to that. I was gonna have to figure out how to make sure my photo didn’t show up on the page or any of the videos, and I cursed myself again for my bright fucking ideas causing more problems.
When I turned around to seek out the next person to invite to the show, I froze and had to clench my jaw. Tyler was talking to her. He was gesturing to the flyer, talking about the bar we were performing at, and my feet were already marching me closer to them. When his eyes lifted to track my advance, he pointed at me, dead center in my chest, “Yeah, here’s our new lead guitar right here.”
And then she looked up at me, those eyes lighting mine up like golden rays of sweet and decadent honey. Her braid cascaded down her chest, curly tendrils plastered against hertemple with sweat. She blinked a few times, chewed on those luscious lips I just wanted to bite and lick and?—
A loud squeak snapped against my trance, and the pup was sprawled out on the concrete. She took a tumble over her wheels, and even though her pads certainly took the brunt of the fall, I could already smell the welling of tears before she started to whimper. Probably more out of surprise and embarrassment than pain since we shifters were pretty tough.
Her aunt shot down to the ground, checking her over for injuries, and I crouched a few feet away, unable to not respond to the little girl looking around with wide, leaking eyes. Her lip trembled while her aunt petted her back and gave her reassurances.
“Hey, pipsqueak,” I cooed. “You’re all right.”
They both turned to look over at me. The Wolf girl glared for a second, like I was being a dick and making fun of her niece. But I pressed on. “Fallin’ hurts, but I’ve seen you learning fast. We all wipe out, and it can be scary. But you’ve got it. Yeah?”
She sniffed and wiped a scraped hand over her cheek. Luckily, it wasn’t bleeding. She nodded and managed to give a shaky smile. Mine in return was wide and encouraging. Even though I healed fast, falling was definitely something you had to get used to, and she’d just started. I extended my fist her way, and she perked up, turning around fully to do the same. “You’re a skater, now. Which means you’re brave. We gotta be pretty special do this stuff and get back up every time we wipe out.” With the Wolf girl and Tyler both boring holes into me with their stares, I slowly led the pup through a simple handshake. She was the youngest kid out here, one of three females, and the only one with safety gear on.
We did the handshake I made up on the spot—a fist bump, two claps, and some finger wagging before a final dap—a few times more before she seemed to have the hang of it. “All right,pipsqueak. Remember the right way to fall, and do what she says. ‘Kay?”
The three of us stood, and the Wolf girl took extra care to steady the pup back on her wheels. With no more tears, she beamed up at me, “‘Kay.”
Tyler cleared his throat, and the Wolf girl was still eyeing me warily as she snatched the flyer from his stack. “Yeah. So, the show will start at eight, but doors open at seven. See you around.” She nodded as Tyler pulled away, and I hesitated. She was gorgeous, proper with the elegant way she always twirled on her skates. Even with her perfectly white sneakers and designer hoodie today, she had a depth that I was itching to dive into.
The pup started to pull on her hand, trying to urge her to keep going with her lesson, so I forced myself to take a step back. It was for the best that I put some space between us. She watched me go, heart a quick patter in her chest that matched mine. “See ya around, rich girl.”
Her lashes fluttered before settling on a sharp look and delicate sneer. Her gaze swept me up and down, and her heart started beating an even sweeter, faster pattern. My nose was good, and that cold grapefruit darkened with wisps of desire that had me downright grinning.
I spun on my heel, leapt unto my board, and rolled after Ty. I wondered if she would taste just as sweet and sour, too.
CHAPTER FIVE
RAMONA
“You really don’t have to come if you don’t want,” I chewed at my lip while I watched Sylvie work the edges of her hair into stylized little curls and loops. She set down the little toothbrush she’d been using and tied a satin scarf to set her edges.
“Pfft, are you kidding? I haven’t been to a show in forever. It’ll be fun!”
My lips threatened to curve up into a smile, but I just managed to tamp it down. I leaned against the counter in Sylvie and Orion’s bathroom and watched my sister-in-law start on her makeup. She rifled through a black makeup bag and pulled out an eyeshadow palette and a tube of mascara. She opened the palette and glanced at me in the mirror before us. “Are you not going to get ready?”
I looked down at my ripped denim shorts and sweatshirt. Sylvie was still in her sweatpants and t-shirt, but I’d seen the slinky dress she’d laid out on the bed. “Uh, I—I thought this was good?”
It was a metal show at a dive bar downtown, so I hadn’t even thought about dressing up. But watching Sylvie apply reds and blacks around her eyes made me start to rethink my strategy.It’d been so long since I’d wanted to… be noticed. And there was no denying that my sister-in-law was beautiful. Unnaturally so. Would I just look like a washed up slob next to her?
Sylvie smoothed mascara over her lashes, and with the grungy eyeshadow she’d applied, her eyes looked hauntingly large. “Tell me something.” I tensed. She took a dark liner, traced the contours of her lips, and blended it with a red-tinted gloss that made her look even witchier. “While I was giving Dahlia a bath the other day, she mentioned you acting funny around some guy at the skatepark. This show wouldn’t have anything to do with him, would it?”
The back of my neck began to sweat, and I had the irrational urge to run away. Who knew my niece would be a little traitor?
She rolled her eyes when I refused to answer. “Do what you want, but if you’d like help getting ready, I’d be more than happy to.”
Eyeing the makeup on the counter and the pretty yet simple enhancements Sylvie had done to her face, I bit my lip. When the shifter’s friend had handed me a flyer for their show tonight, I didn’t even want to admit to myself how eager I’d been. To see him aside from the glimpses I got of him flying through the air and laughing with his buddies. Maybe I’d be able to sit with him at the bar. Or… I didn’t know, dosomething.
“I don’t, um. I don’t have a lot here, but that’d be cool, I guess.”
Sylvie’s eyes almost fucking sparkled as she grinned, and I had to again fight the urge to run. My mom had long ago given up trying to fuss with my hair and force me into clothes that she deemed ladylike and appropriate, so I was tensing for this experience to be more of the same. It wasn’t that I didn’t like getting dressed up, but the times Ihadlet other people dress me or do my makeup, I’d never felt like myself.
Sylvie guided me to sit on the closed lid of the toilet and looked over my face and hair with lips pursed. Coming to some sort of conclusion while I tried to look anywhere else but her, she asked, “So, what kind of look would you want to go for?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to catch up to the question. “Ah… something simple, I guess?”